Goodbye Team Sky

After a decade of support for the British Cycling Team, Sky have handed over the reigns to a new owner, Ineous.

To celebrate the last ten years of achievement and inspiration, Sky made a 60” film titled “Ride On”, directed by Simon Corkin and Will McMullen, and it was an honour to provide location scouting and management for it. The film follows some key Team Sky cyclists, including Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas, riding through British countryside and the streets of London, gradually attracting a growing peloton, symbolic of the way the Team have inspired a whole generation of cyclists in the UK.

From the outset it was clear that some of the shots with the huge peloton would require complete control, so we looked in to various private roads, racetracks, test tracks and country estates. The proving ground we ended up at for a day provided us with a perfect controlled environment to safely shoot the larger peloton shots with 100+ cyclists, and the “competition” scenes.

For the urban shots it was clear we needed to find multiple streets in London to get the architecture we needed. This always means a tricky balance finding locations that fit the brief, but also finding streets that are practical to hold traffic and control whilst we shoot - especially when you have a peloton of cyclists to protect alongside the usual circus of the film crew! Road closures in London generally take 6-12 weeks so are rarely an option for us with the turnaround times of commercials, but with 1-2 weeks notice we can hold traffic in certain areas for 3 minute intervals whilst we go for a take. The junction shot in the film was particularly ambitious given the turnaround time, and included 75 cyclists and a couple of horses to co-ordinate - all shot on live roads in central London!

The success of British cycling under Team Sky has been undeniable, and if that encourages more people to get on their bikes, get fitter and reduce their impact on the environment, then we’re all for it. We’re looking forward to their continued success going forward as Team Ineous.